FiLUMS workshop: ‘The key is to be creative within your resources’

Two emerging artists on
the national music and film scene held workshops on the second day of the LUMS
International Film Festival, FiLUMS on Saturday.

Syed Noor Hussain, a
student of architecture at the National College of Arts, gave a workshop on how
to produce music videos with limited resources. Hussain produced a music video
in 2011 for the single Zameer sung by Wajahat Hussain.

“I took online
tutorials to add special effects,” he said.

Hussain said a
story-board – the blueprint of a film or video – needs to be elaborate.

“You need to invest
time and energy in researching the content for the film,” he said.

Hussain said his video
had focused on creating a ‘war-like’ image.

It needed images of
destruction. From damaged buildings to old structures, Hussain said he explored
every corner of the city till he stumbled upon the right location.

“I remembered that
there had been a fire in Shah Aalami which had caused great devastation… as
soon as I went there I realised this was the place,” he added.

Given the low budget,
Hussain said he had to compromise on equipment.

He went for cheaper
alternatives like a 20 year old tripod.

“Twice we almost
dropped our camera while balancing it on the tripod,” he said with a laugh.

“The key is to learn to
be creative within your resources whether technical or human,” he said.

Nabeel Khan, an actor
who starred in Reema Khan’s Love Mein Gum talked about the challenges faced by
upcoming actors.

Khan said he was not
entirely ready to work in films. He started his acting career in 1999 with a TV
commercial while he was in grade 9. Khan, who has been working in a bank since
2007, said he had taken up modelling offers.

“It took me by
surprise… I wasn’t ready to work in films,” he said. But as Reeema was
producing the film, he said he decided to give it a shot. “Reema is big,” he
added.

A song from the movie
Kitni Haseen Hai Zindagee was played before Khan spoke. Khan said he was very
conscious of the choreography for the song.

Khan said that lack
funding and the lack of rules were to blame for the decline. He regretted that
Pakistani artists were appreciated in the country only after they went abroad.

Khan said there was a
need for the government to step up and support the dying industry. “We need
finances, guidance, expertise and… we need the government to help us,” he said.

The young actor
proposed that the provincial government set up an institution where new talent
could hone its skills. He insisted that
the institute be privatised once it got going.

Nearly 30 movies were
screened during the first part of the day. The day ended with the premiere of
the film Seedlings which was one of the major highlights of the festival.